Business Glossary: T

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T Fifth letter of a Nasdaq stock symbol indicating that the stock has warrants or rights.

TAA See: Tactical asset allocation

TABs See: Tax anticipation bill

TANs See: Tax anticipation notes

TBA See: To be announced

TC The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.

TD The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CHAD.

TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1983) The law requiring federal income tax withholding on payments of dividend and interest to accounts without a certified tax identification number on file. See: W-9.

TF The two-character ISO 3166 country code for FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES.

TG The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TOGO.

TH The two-character ISO 3166 country code for THAILAND.

THB The ISO 4217 currency code for the Thai Baht.

TIGER See: Treasury Investors Growth Receipt

TIIS See: Treasury inflation-indexed securities

TIPS See: Treasury inflation-proteced securities

TITAL See: Transaction insured trade acceptance locator

TJ The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TAJIKISTAN.

TJR The ISO 4217 currency code for the Tajikistan Rouble.

TK The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TOKELAU.

TM The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TURKMENISTAN.

TMM The ISO 4217 currency code for the Turkmenistan Manet.

TN The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TUNISIA.

TND The ISO 4217 currency code for the Tunisian Dinar.

TO The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TONGA.

TOP The ISO 4217 currency code for the Tonga Pa'anga.

TP The two-character ISO 3166 country code for EAST TIMOR.

TR The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TURKEY.

TRL The ISO 4217 currency code for the Turkish Lira.

TT The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO.

TTD The ISO 4217 currency code for the Trinidad and Tobago Dollar.

TTM Trailing 12 months. Often used with Earnings Per Share.

TV The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TUVALU.

TW The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TAIWAN, PROVINCE OF CHINA.

TWD The ISO 4217 currency code for the Taiwan Dollar.

TZ The two-character ISO 3166 country code for TANZANIA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF.

TZS The ISO 4217 currency code for the Tanzania Shilling.

T-period holding-period return The percentage return over the T-year period an investment is held.

T+3 The settlement date for securities transactions such as a stock sale. It refers to the obligation in the brokerage business to settle securities trades by the third day following the trade date. The settlement occurs when the seller receives the sales price (the broker's commission) and the buyer receives the shares.

Tabulation Report A proxy tally report detailing the current quorum and vote figures on each proposal.

TAC bonds See: Targeted amortization class bond.

Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) Portfolio strategy that allows active departures from the normal asset mix according to specified objective measures of value. Often called active management. It involves forecasting asset returns, volatilities, and correlations. The forecasted variables may be functions of fundamental variables, economic variables, or even technical variables.

Tail The remaining reserves after a project financing has been repaid. Sometimes refers to the residual value.

Tailgating Purchase of a security by a broker after the broker places an order for the same security for a customer. The broker hopes to profit either because of information which the customer has or because the customer's purchase is of sufficient size to affect security prices. This is an unethical practice.

Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSEC) Established in 1961, the only centralized securities market in Taiwan.

Take (1) To agree to buy. A dealer or customer who agrees to buy at another dealer's offered price is said to take the offer. (2) Euro bankers speak of taking deposits rather than buying money.

Take a bath To sustain a loss on either a speculation or an investment.

Take a flier To speculate on highly risky securities.

"Take it down" Reduce the offering price or hit others' bids to such an extent as to lower the inside market.

"Take me along" "Allow me to participate in the side of a particular trade.

Take off A sharp increase in the price of a stock, or a positive movement of the market as a whole.

Take the offer Buy stock by accepting a floor broker's (listed) or dealer's (OTC) offer at an agreed-upon volume. Antithesis of hit the bid.

Take-out A cash surplus generated by the sale of one block of securities and the purchase of another, e.g., selling a block of bonds at 99 and buying another block at 95. Also, a bid made to a seller of a security that is designed (and generally agreed) to take the seller out of the market.

Take-and-pay contract An agreement that obligates the purchaser to take any product that is offered (and pay the cash purchase price) and pay a specified amount if the product is not taken.

Take a position To buy or sell short; that is to own or to owe some amount on an asset or derivative security.

Take a powder Temporarily cancel an order or indication in a stock, while unrepresented interest still exists. See: Back on the shelf, sidelines.

Take a swing Execute a trade at a price that the trader feels is higher or more risky than would normally be acceptable, in order to gain market share in the institutional arena.

Takedown The share of securities of each participating investment banker in a new or a secondary offering, or the price at which the securities are distributed to the different members of an underwriting group.

Takeout A financing to refinance or take out another loan.

Takeover General term referring to transfer of control of a firm from one group of shareholders to another group of shareholders. Change in the controlling interest of a corporation, either through a friendly acquisition or an unfriendly, hostile, bid. A hostile takeover (with the aim of replacing current existing management) is usually attempted through a public tender offer.

Takeover target A company that is the object of a takeover attempt, friendly or hostile.

Take-up fee A fee paid to an underwriter in connection with an underwritten rights offering or an underwritten forced conversion. Represents compensation for each share of common stock the underwriter obtains and must resell upon the exercise of rights or conversion of bonds.

Takes a call Requires a phone call to an account in order for a trade to be completed. See: Show me.

Takes price Requiring some price movement or concession on behalf of the initiating party before a trade can be consummated. See: Price give.

Taking delivery When the buyer actually assumes possession from a seller of assets agreed upon in a forward contract or a futures contract.

Taking a view A London expression; means forming an opinion as to where market prices are headed and acting on it.

Tandem programs Ginnie Mae mortgage funds provided at below-market rates to residential MBS buyers with FHA Section 203 and 235 loans and to developers of multifamily projects with Section 236 loans initially and later with Section 221(d)(4) loans.

Tangible asset An asset whose value depends on particular physical properties. These include reproducible assets such as buildings or machinery and non-reproducible assets such as land, a mine, or a work of art. Also called real assets. Converse of: Intangible asset

Tangible net worth Total assets minus intangible assets, which include patents and copyrights, and total liabilities.

Tangibility Characteristic that an assets can be used as collateral to secure debt.

Tape (1) Service that reports prices and sizes of transactions on major exchanges-ticker tape. (2) Dow Jones and other news wires. See: Consolidated tape.

Tape is late When the trading volume is so heavy that trades appear on the tape more than a minute behind the timer they actually take place.

Tare Weight The weight of an empty container and any packaging materials used in the container.

Tariff A tax on imports or exports.

Target cash balance Optimal amount of cash for a firm to hold, considering the trade-off between the opportunity costs of holding too much cash and the trading costs of holding too little cash.

Target company Often used in risk arbitrage. Firm chosen as an attractive takeover candidate by a potential acquirer. The acquirer may buy up to 5% of the target's stock without public disclosure, but it must report all transactions and supply other information to the SEC, the exchange the target company is listed on, and the target company itself once the 5% threshold is hit. See: Raider.

Target firm A firm that is the object of a takeover by another firm.

Target investment mix The percentage mix of stocks, bonds, and short-term reserves that an investor considers appropriate based on his/her personal objectives, time horizon, risk tolerance, and financial resources.

Target Leverage Ratio The ratio of the market value of debt to the total market value of the firm that management seeks to maintain.

Target payout ratio A firm's long-run dividend-to-earnings ratio. The firm's policy is to attempt to pay out a certain percentage of earnings, but it pays a stated dollar dividend and adjusts it to the target as base line increases in earnings occur.

Target price In the context of takeovers, the price at which an acquirer aims to buy a target firm.
In the context of options, the price of the underlying security at which an option will become in the money.
In the context of stocks, the price that an investor hopes a stock will reach in a certain time period.

Target zone arrangement A monetary system under which countries pledge to maintain their exchange rates within a specific margin around agreed-upon, fixed central exchange rates.

Target zones Implicit boundaries on exchange rates established by central banks.

Targeted registered offerings Securities issues sold to "targeted" foreign financial_institutions according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines. These foreign institutions then maintain a secondary market in the foreign market.

Targeted repurchase Buying back of a firm's stock from a potential acquirer, usually at a substantial premium, to forestall a takeover attempt. Related: Greenmail.

Targeted Amortization Class (TAC) bonds Bonds offered as a tranche class of some CMOs, according to a sinking fund schedule. They differ from PAC bonds whose amortization is guaranteed as long as prepayments on the underlying mortgages do not exceed certain limits. A TAC's schedule is met at only one prepayment rate.

Tax anticipation bills (Tabs) Special bills that the Treasury occasionally issues that mature on corporate quarterly income tax dates and can be used at face value by corporations to pay their tax liabilities.

Tax Anticipation Notes (Tans) Notes issued by states or municipalities to finance current operations in anticipation of future tax receipts.

Tax arbitrage Trading that takes advantage of a difference in tax rates or tax systems as the basis for profit.

Tax audit Audit by the IRS or other tax-collecting agency to determine whether a taxpayer has paid the correct amount of tax.

Tax avoidance Minimizing tax burden through legal means such as tax-free municipal bonds, tax shelters, IRA accounts, and trusts. Compare with tax evasion.

Tax base The assessed value of the taxable property, assets, and income within a specific geographic area.

Tax basis In the context of finance, the original cost of an asset less depreciation that is used to determine gains or losses for tax purposes.
In the context of investments, the price of a stock or bond plus the broker's commission.

Tax books Records kept by a firm's management that follow IRS rules. The books follow Financial Accounting Standards Board rules.

Tax bracket The percentage of tax obligation for a particular taxable income.

Tax clawback agreement An agreement to contribute as equity to a project the value of all previously realized project-related tax benefits not already clawed back. Exercised to the extent required to cover any cash deficiency of the project.

Tax clientele Categories of investors who have specific preferences for debt or equity because of differences in their personal tax rates.

Tax credit A direct dollar-for-dollar reduction in tax allowed for expenses such as child care and R&D for building low-income housing. Compare tax deduction.

Tax-deductible The effect of creating a tax deduction, such as charitable contributions and mortgage interest.

Tax deduction An expense that a taxpayer is allowed to deduct from taxable income.

Tax-deferred income Dividends, interest, and unrealized capital gains on investments in an account such as a qualified retirement plan, where income is not subject to taxation until a withdrawal is made.

Tax deferral option Allowing the capital gains tax on an asset to be payable only when the gain is realized by selling the asset.

Tax-deferred retirement plans Employer-sponsored and other plans that allow contributions and earnings to be made and accumulate tax-free until they are paid out as benefits.

Tax differential view (of dividend policy) The view that shareholders prefer capital gains over dividends, and hence low payout ratios, because capital gains are effectively taxed at lower rates than dividends.

Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) Legislation to increase tax revenue by eliminating various taxation loopholes and instituting tougher enforcement procedures in collecting taxes.

Tax-equivalent yield The pre-tax yield required from a taxable bond in order to equal the tax-free yield of a municipal bond.

Tax evasion Illegal by reducing tax burden by underreporting income, overstating deductions, or using illegal tax shelters<